Flow film camera



Feb. 16, 1954 H- T- LSON FLOW FILM CAMERA 5 Sheets-Shget 1 Filed Oct. 4, 1949 6 vi i U INVENTCR Harold T028071 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1949 INVENTOR Harold T 0 son Feb. 16, 1954 H. T. OLSON 2,669,398

FLOW FILM CAMERA Filed Oct. 4, 1 949 3 Sheets-Sheet Z5 II- IWIIIJII m II A} III m al I... A HM 1 I i :nl s

A \Illw h W w m Wm I MN M3 Om NW E: .i Q\ T n 4 g u Patented Feb. 16, 1954 UN IT ED i} STATES PATEN T 1 OF F I CE FLOWLFILM CAMERA 1 -Harold T."-ls0n, Baldwin, N. .Y5.',T assignor to Rem- :hin'gtonxltamlvlncg N ew York N Yi, a corporal tion of Delaware Application October 4, 1949;Seri'a'l N 0. 119.529

1' :lClaims.

Thisinvention relates to flow film cameras. The inventionprovides-improved film feed The inventionprovides'zfor ready interchange I of the reduction gearing inorder to' adapt? the camera for difier'ent rates offilm feed.

"Since in many applications of flowfilmrphotogi raphy it is desirable that 'two' separate films. shall be exposed for. duplication of'records the preferredembodiment of the invention provides the "apparatus in dual form;ifilm feed means, with their associated controlsfiand lenses being mounted on theloutside of. a. hollow partition extending longitudinally of the camera "casing where they: are accessible throughwside doors o'f thelcasing. Preferably the hollowlp'artition provides for enclosure of film-feed drive means drivably' connected with both of"said"film feed l means for driving them in unison.

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment in the form of a dual flow. film camera:

Fig. 1 is a side elevationof thev'camera with the side door removed to reveal the internal mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1 butshowing one wall of the hollow .partition removed to reveal the drivemechanism. Fig.3 is ansection onthe line 3T-3 or. Fig. 1,

i and Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. The casing of. the camera is indicated by'the reference numeral I 0 andfundamentally is in the'form of -asubstantial castinglhaving can integralpartition H extending longitudinally and also including the cast barrel l2 which .receives the lens mounts. -The internal rib 'formation l3 r r l provides a location -for the removable partition M which is secured in position by the screws. l5. l The lenses are thus provided in laterally spaced relation directed downwardly. through. the bottom of the casing. Access doors I1, I81 19 and as are prov ded at each'side of the casing. being hinged to the bottom 16 and havin'gtfastening means operative to secure .them in the.closed position in which: the-doors are seen in Fig. 3. The

' camera is intended to be secured on a support base, being'locked in position thereon,. and a lock actuating plunge'rZl istherefore incorporated with the handle 22 atthe top of -the-casing.

It will beseen that the partition members. ll

and M cooperate for mounting the film -supply spool mounting spindle 23' which projects at each "-side' of the hollowcentral-partition. Film supply spoolsare mounted one on each projecting end of the spindle 23 for rotation with thespindle.

A film take-up spool mountinguspindle 24 is similarly mounted at the-otherend of the machine upon the projecting endsof which spindle the film take-upspools are engaged for-rotation with the spindle 24' which is driven for rotation as will later be understoodml he film supply and takeup spools are shown imFig. 3 where they are inl dicated respectively bythe"reference numerals 25, 26, 2l-and 2flyand in Fig. l the position' of l the spools 25 and 21 isindicated in dot and dash dines. Intermediate the spindles 23 and the spindle 29 -has the film feeddrums 3fl'and 3| mounted on itsprojecting ends. The spindle 29 is "positively driven" for rotation" and thedrums 30 and 3| arelockedthereon for rotation therewith.

It will be seen from Fig. lwthat the film indi- --cated therein by the "reference numeral 32 ex- 30' tends from the supply-spool 25 underwthe lower "portion of the-feed drum 33 to the take-up spool 21. A tensioning roller 33 mounted on the end ofthe lever 34engages the underside of the film "between the supply spool- 25 and the feed drum 30. The lever 34 is pivotally connected to the partition M to move about" on axis defined by "the fixing bolt 35. arcuate slot 3'I-provided in thepartition M and A'peg' 36 projects into the cooperates therewith to limit the extent of movement of the-lever 34, which normally tends to rotate clockwise as viewed in Fig.1 under the influence of'the spring38. The lever 34 controls means for braking rotation of the drum if .slack'develops irrthefilm between the supply spool 25 and the feed drum 30 and it will, therefore, be appreciated that that section of the film Twill normally be kept taut. Between the drum L 36 and the take-up spool 21, the film is similarly engaged byatherollers 39 and 40. The roller 39 .ismounted. on a hollow lever 4| pivoted to rotate about the pivot 42 by which it is connected to the partition l4. and a spring 43 operates to swing the lever toward .the feed drum 3!) so that -the"roller 39 presses the filmagainst the drum.

It will thus beseen from Fig. '1 that the "rollers 33 and 39 operate to cause the film to embrace the drum tightly around a considerable portion of the drum circumference with a frictional grip which provides a non-slip film drive and also eliminates any possibility of the film being wrinkled in the region of the lens mount indicated in Fig. l by the reference numeral 9c. The box structure of the lever dI is shown partly broken away in Fig. 1 to reveal the connection thereto of the lever 4%, which under the influence of the spring 45, tends to swing clockwise about the pin #IB by which it is connected to the lever d I, and the roller Mi thus operates for keeping taut that portion of the film between the drum se and the take-up spool 21.

but the supply spools Z5 and 26 are interlocked with the respective bosses 65 and 66 which project through the partitions II and I4 to mount the respective brake drums 65' and 66, see Fig. 3. From each of the respective anchorages 61 and 68, see Fig. 3, brake bands 69 and I0 extend downwardly under the respective brake drums 65' and 66 and have their respective ends connected to the pegs 36, 36' on the respective levers 34, 34', see Fig. 4. The arrangement is thus such that if excessive slack develops in the film runs between the supply spools and their respective The film feed drums 30 and ti are preferably rubber covered, the covering being preferably constituted by two annular bands spaced to provide a central opening on the periphery of each drum into which the point 41 of the film stripper blade 48 can project. The stripper operates to prevent the film adhering to the drum.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated the filmfeed mechanism seen in Fig. 1 is completely duplicated by a similar set of mechanism at the outside of the fixed partition I I, and for access to the drive mechanism enclosed between the partition members it is necessary to disconnect the feed drum 30 from its spindle 2B and to remove the film spools, whereafter on removal of the screws I5 the partition I4 can be removed with all the parts mounted on it. The drive mechanism with the partition so removed is best seen in Fig. 2 and will now be described with reference to Fig. 2 taken in conjunction with Figs. 3 and 4t. Thus, the reference numeral 49 represents the main drive shaft which is mounted in spaced upper and lower bearings 50 and 5! respectively connected for attachment to the fixed partition I I by the bracket 52 which is secured to the partition by the screws 53. At its lower end the shaft 49 is provided with the detachable drive coupling 49 through which drive can be transmitted from a cooperating coupling on the end of a driven shaft. The worm 54 on the main drive shaft 49 cooperates with the toothed pinion 55 on 'the feed drum spindletlil for film feed drive and with the pinion 56 on the shaft 51 for'driving the take-up spool spindle 24. The shaft 51 mounts pulleys 58 and 553 one on each side of the pinion 56. Those pulleys are drivingly connected by the spring belts 88 and iSI, see Fig. 4:, to the respective pulleys 82 and 63 on the take-up spool spindle 24. r

' It should be noted that the take-up spool spindle is divided within the hollow partition, the arrangement being such that the boss 64, see Fig. 3, formed integrally with one end portion of the spindle can rotate relatively to the other end a portion of the spindle. desirable because the amount of film on the spool Such an arrangement is 21 will not necessarily always be the same as that on the spool 28, in which event the take-up of' the respective films would be different if the spindle ends were rotated in unison. In Fig. 2, however, the belt tit and the pulley 52 have been omitted to facilitate the showing, and it will be appreciated that the divided formation of the spindle 24, in conjunction with the two spring belt drives 55 and BI, provides the required degree of differential drive.

feed drums the consequent movement of the levers 34 under their spring influence actuates the brake bands 59 and III to resist excessive rotation or overrunning of the supply spools.

The camera which is the subject of the present invention is primarily intended for use with the flow film photographic apparatus described in the applications, Serial Nos. 119,525; 119,526, now abandoned, and 119,527, now issued as Patent No. 2,632,360, March 24, 1953, filed concurrently herewith in which the present applicant is coapplicant with William W. Eaton. In those disclosures the camera was intended to be locked in engagement with a suspended camera support base supporting the bottom of the camera. For

. adapted and arranged for engagement with the slot H provided in the bell crank lever 12 pivoted to rock about the pivot I3 connecting the bell crank E2 to the partition II. When the camera is fully engaged on the support base of the machine the pin is located in the slot 14 in the bottom of the camera so that as the camera is put in position on the support base the bell crank lever swings clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2 for snap engagement of the lock. The bell crank lever is connected by the rod 15 with the lock Fig. 2 in conjunction with Fig. 3 also shows the 7 brake means provided in conjunction with the supply spools 25. It will be appreciated that the spindle 23 is not driven and can, in fact, be fixed,

actuating plunger 2| and the compression spring I6 operative between the underside of the lock actuating plunger 2| and the base of the lock plunger compartment urges the bell crank lever 12 into the locking position for disengagement on application of pressure downwardly on the plunger 2!. r r

The aforesaid disclosures also describe electrical controls by means of which appropriate signals are given when no film is available on the supply spool, when the take-up spool is full and also to .give an indication in the event of film breakage. For such purposes the switches 'I'I, I8 and 19 are provided which are connected with the electrical circuit of the machine described in the aforesaid applications through the respective plug contacts such as 80, 81 and 82. Thus the switch I1 is normally closed but; in the event of there being no film available on either of the supply spools, the lever, 83 which is spring loaded swings anticlockwise about its pivot and engages the switch 11 to break the circuit at the switch and stop the machine. The lever 83 is also connected with the toothed quadrant 84 which drives the pinion 85 on the shaft 85 of the footage indicatorhaving a dial portion 81 visible at the top of the camera. To prevent scratching the film the lever 83 has at its inner end the roller 88, which is mounted for free rotation. The lever thus rests on the periphery of the spooled film, the roller 88 swinging inwardly as the available supply is reduced and driving correspondingly the *f dial 81 which bears steale -readable against a fixed datum line on thebamera casing to *deter- 'mine approximately'the amount whim-available g t su pply spool for exposure. "Similarly enie "film builds lip to' fill the take-up spool the' switch 18 is actuated by the lever 89 'to bfeak the circuit? IL'JikeWise, if the film *bie'aks -the arrh 44 swings upwardly to *breali the-electrical circuit at-th'eswltcli 19.

"" 'l-fhe camera according to the"flnventionf as hereinbefore described can be= -readily -*-adapted for -diirerent rates or film-"feed by intrchanging the worm 54 and the pinions idand 562* It is also afeature of importance that, by reason of the flexibility ofthe take-up spool drive and its pliysicarseparatiomfroni the feed drumj vibration oraiieaim andyeran; feed-drum is reduced to aminimum.

n It will be appreciated thataalthough the preferred embodiment hereinbefore described deals with a camera in dual-form all the features '=--'thereof-= are equally applicable to cameras in f -whicheno provision is-made for duplication of fl the photographic record.

The invention claimed is: x 1 A -camera film feed -com'prising a 'casing havinga. longitudinally extending partition, T supply and receiving spool spindles rotatably mounted in transversely extending relation in opposite end portions of said partition, a feed spindle rotatably mounted in transversely extending relation in said partition intermediate said first-mentioned spindles, said spindles all having at least one end projecting outwardly from one side of said partition, said ends at one side of said partition projecting into a film compartment in spaced substantially parallel relation, a, feed drum mounted on said feed spindle in said film compartment, a primary lever pivoted on said partition, a primary roller rotatably mounted in one end of said primary lever, said primary lever being pivoted on said partition at the opposite end between said feed spindle and supply spool spindle and guiding film between a supply spool and said feed drum, means operating said primary lever to normally maintain tension on the film between the supply spool and feed drum, a second lever pivoted on said partition, a second roller rotatable in one end of said second lever, said second lever being pivoted on said partition at the opposite end between said feed spindle and receiving spool spindle, means normally operating said second lever to move said second roller toward said feed drum to retain a film strip in feeding and engaged relation be tween the periphery of said drum and second roller, a third lever pivoted at one end on an intermediate portion of said second lever carrying a film guide roller on the free end, means on said second and third levers normally moving said third lever relative to said second lever and cooperating therewith to normally guide and maintain tension on film during movement from said drum to a receiving spool on said receiving spool spindle, and means for normally operating selected spindles to feed film from the supply to the receiving spool about the periphery of said drum and over said rollers under tension. 2. A camera film feed comprising a casing having a longitudinally extending partition, supply and receiving spool spindles rotatably mounted in transversely extending relation in opposite end portions of said partition, a feed spindle rotatably mounted in transversely extending relation in said partition intermediate' said first mentioned spihdlesfisaid spindles l all having 'opposite ends projecting beyond opposite sides of said partition,= said'-'ends at one 'side oi -said par-tition projecting: into a 'film compartment in spaced substantiallyparallel relation} afeedix drum mounted-onsaid feed spindle in s'aid 'film' ooma. g ment; film guiding means in said compart- "ment' 'for guiding film between a supply spool in l--one end of-s'aid-compartment and s'ald feed' dr um, a-lever* pivotally mounted at -on*e e'nd i said *comp'artment *between the feedand creeeiving "spool' spindles carrying a film' guide rolleratthe other end, means normally operating 'said lever to '5 movethe periphery of manner on the end thereof toward' the periphery of said feed drum='-for maintaining a strip" or film =engaged=betweenthe peripheries of*'said drum androller infeeding relationfa lever mo'unted on the last-mentioned lever at pne end" for pivotal movement thereon having afilm guide roller at the opposit'e end for giiidiifgfiliri between the roller on said'first- *rnentioned -lever and a receiving-spool onsaid receiving spool"-spi'ndle,"means engaging-both of saidlevers for normally moving the last-men- "tioned"leverrelative to the first-mentioned lever tomorrhally maintain tension on a film stripexending between said'drum and'a rec'eivingspool, 'and drive means on the oppositeside of said partition connected with the other end of said drive spindle and said receiving spool spindle for normally feeding film from a supply spool on said supply spool spindle about said feed drum, guide means and guide rollers to a receiving spool on said receiving spool spindle.

3. A camera film feed, as claimed in claim 1, having a peg mounted on said primary lever projecting through a slot formed in said partition, a brake band having one end secured to the free end of said peg on the opposite side of said partition from said lever, a brake drum mounted on the end of said supply spool spindle at the other side of said partition, an intermediate portion of said brake band engaging about the periphery thereof, and an anchor for the opposite end of said brake band on said other side of said partition, said primary lever being operable to apply a braking tension on said supply spool spindle in outward movement on the free end of said lever away from said supply spool spindle.

4. A camera film feed, as claimed in claim 2, wherein a drive shaft is mounted on the other side of said partition in spaced parallel relation thereto between said feed spindle and said receiving spool spindle, a worm drive gear on said drive shaft opposite said feed spindle, a worm gear on the end of said feed spindle at said other side of said partition intermeshed with the worm gear on said drive shaft, a second worm gear rotatably mounted on the other side of said partition and intermeshed with the worm on said drive shaft at the opposite side of the worm gear carried by said feed spindle in substantially parallel relation therewith, said second worm gear carrying a pulley, a pulley mounted on the end of the receiving spool spindle at the other side of said partition in aligned relation to the pulley on said second worm gear, and an endless belt engaged over said pulleys for cooperation in the operation of said drive shaft to rotate the feed drum and receiving spool spindle for feeding a film strip from a supply spool on the supply spool spindle about the guide means, feed drum and guide rollers to a receiving spool on the re- 7 ceiving spool spindle and normally maintain tension on said strip during travel between said spools.

5. A camera film feed, as claimed in claim 2, wherein said casing is formed with spacing means on the opposite side of said partition, a removable partition mounted in said casing and held in spaced parallel relation to the first-mentioned partition by said spacing means, said removable partition having supply and receiving spool spindles mounted thereon in aligned relation to the corresponding spindles in the first-mentioned partition, said receiving spool spindles on both partitions having the inner ends on the sides of each partition opposite to the film compartment r by each of said partitions.

terminating in adjacent aligned relation, a shaft 7 having opposite ends rotatably mounted in bearings carried by said partition and extending therebetween in spaced parallel relation between said feed and receiving spool spindles, a worm gear mounted in the central portion of said shaft, pulleys mounted on opposite sides of said worm gear in aligned relation to the pulleys on said receiving spool shafts, endless belts engaged-over pulleys on each side of said worm gear and the aligned pulleys on said receiving spool shafts for independently driving the receiving spool shafts in the operation of said worm gear and shaft, the other endof said feed spindle having a rotatable bearing in and projecting through and beyond the outer side of said removable partition, a feed drum on the outer end of said other end, a worm gear on said feed spindle between said partitions, a drive shaft mounted on the first mentioned partition carrying a worm gear engaged between the worm gear on said shaft and said feed spindle and operable to drive said feed spindle and receiving spool spindles for winding two lengths of film from supply spools on said supply spool spindles carried by each of said partitions to receiving spools on the receiving spool spindles carried HAROLD T. OLSON.

References Cited in the .file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 942,164 Bolton Dec. 7, 1909 1,090,128 Avers -1 Mar. 7, 1914 1,314,055 Francis Aug; 26, 1919 1,642,681 Kaplan Sept. 20, 1927 1,843,650 Schlicker Febf2, 1932 1,957,889 Hopkins et a1. May 8, 1934 2,097,142 Bort'on Oct. 26, 1937 2,207,075 Sperry July 9, 1940 2,403,587 1946 Doyle et al July 9, 

